I have a true confession.
My wife, Sweet T and I love the TV thriller/drama Bloodline on Netflix. The 23-episode program isn’t your typical fare. Bloodline is an American Netflix original television series from creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman. Sony Pictures Television produced the series consisting of episodes that run 48-60 minutes each.
We also like TNT’s Good Behavior and AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire. But more about those shows later. I digress; Let’s discuss Bloodline.
I enjoy watching a show filled with imperfect, flawed characters, revealing intriguing family secrets, and featuring a little history mixed in for good measure. Bloodline certainly fits that bill.
Sweet T and I binged on the show over several days, getting hooked on the 13-episode Season 1 followed by 10-episode Season 2. The program’s final season (Season 3) is set to debut on Netflix at the end of May 2017.
Bloodline focuses on the story of the Rayburn’s, a prominent Southern family residing in the beautiful paradise of Florida Keys. Paradise quickly begins to get tarnished with the arrival of the wayward son, Danny. Danny’s younger siblings are disturbed by his return home and rapidly realize that his presence threatens to reveal old family secrets and open old wounds.
The show is well-written and adeptly directed, moving at a suspenseful, plot-twisting pace. The secrets of the Rayburn family surface, marring the beautiful setting of the Florida Keys.
Sam Shepard (Robert) and Sissy Spacek (Sally) portray the Rayburn parents of the four siblings played by Ben Mendelsohn (Danny), Kyle Chandler (John), Linda Cardellini (Meg), and Norbert Leo Butz (Kevin). The supporting cast features a great ensemble of excellent actors and actresses.
The Bloodline plot explores family dysfunction, sibling relationships, addiction, deceit, manipulation, and the lengths people will go to keep their private family secrets safe and out of public view.
I think it is the show’s exploration of how manipulative addicts can be and the examination of the impact that this has on families that draw me to the program. It is also relevant for its glimpse of the human trafficking industry and the people it devastates in its wake. The show offers a bird’s eye view of fallible, fallen, broken people doing their best to maintain the status quo.
The show is really for mature audiences and not what I would call wholesome family viewing or suitable for all ages. That said, grownups should enjoy the unseemly tale of the Rayburns as their dysfunctional family portrait unravels more and more with each new episode. For TV viewing in the 21st century, it doesn’t get much better.
Sweet T and I can hardly wait for Season 3.
The Devotional Guy™ 